nuts to butts

alternative adjective nuts-to-butts

1. idiomaticnot comparableslangClosely one behind the other.First known use 1980s

   Like where else could he go? We’re harnessed together nuts to butts.

   2003, Rita M. Ippoliti, “Tandem City” (chapter 6), in Falling into Place, Kryos Publishing, page 128

   5 more examples

   I’m a bastard jewboy in the promised land with a big hairy ass and a pocket full of sand livin’ nuts to butts and asshole to bell

   1984 May 4, Jon Sugar, “A Sweet and Sonr Look at Jon Sugar”, in Alex MacDonald, Bay Area Reporter, volume XIV, number 21, page 22

   Lawrence Rich gave away his iced tea and forced down two grape drinks before lining up "nuts to butts" to leave the room.

   1988 October 28, James M. Shannon, “Narrative” (chapter VI), in The Report of the Investigation of Attorney General James M. Shannon of the Class 12 Experience at the Edward W. Connelly Criminal Justice Training Center, Agawam, Massachusetts, Massachusetts. Attorney General's Office, page 63

   Another yelled out, “Let me see nuts to butts, c'mon, people, nuts to butts, ladies! This ain't fucking gay, get used to it now! Nuts to butts!”

   2011, Dara Odoe Sok, Engagement in Peril, Xlibris, page 504

   The vehicles were stacked nuts to butts, with little room to pass between them.

   2017, Walt Browning, Charlie's Requiem: Resistance, →ISBN, page 15

   Ironically, I found myself playing peacekeeper, urging elderly English ladies to respect the line, much like I would back in Dehli’s while disembarking from airplanes where people found the need to stand “nuts to butts” while pushing forward.

   2023 September 27, Maximilian Sebastian Sterling, “Rethinking the Stereotype: The English and Queuing Misconceptions”, in Medium, archived from the original on 25 Apr 2024

2. broadlyidiomaticnot comparableslangCrowdedly, tightly, compactly.

   Maybe it does take a village. But what if the damned village in question is nuts to butts full of idiots? —Lieutenant Jack Rivera

   2018, Lois Greiman, Unsweetened, NYLA, page 227

   5 more examples

   Many had never ridden on a train before and were excited as children. They piled in willy-nilly, everywhere, finding room where they could. It was so crowded that some had to stand up in the aisles, nuts to butts, but they didn’t mind.

   2005, Richard Lee Pulgham, The Hogs of Cold Harbor: The Civil War Saga of Private Johnny Hess, CSA, Whitmore Publishing Co., page 93

   “When I got down there they already had about 20 crazy fuckers packed together nuts to butts in the same cell smellin’ like fart. I was like, get me the fuck outta here.”

   2008, Nick Garafola, Hot Metal Boys, Cold Piece Books, page 48

   De La Soul, the iconic Long Island hip-hop trio, performed last Saturday to a capacity crowd at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom. It was "nuts-to-butts crowded," as my Tennessee friends like to say.

   2014 March 17, Mark Sanders, “Denver fans explain why De La Soul still matters”, in Westword, archived from the original on 25 Apr 2024

   If it had not been a weekend, the borough would have been quieter. Moreover, the morning crowd would have soon been out, and the area overwhelmed with commuters walking, biking, and driving to work, or packed nuts to butts on public transportation.

   2017, William Hunter, Sanction, […], →ISBN, page 47

   There's no point in arguing, they believe they are superior and anyone who doesn't live nuts to butts in an overcrowded city is stupid.

   2024 June 27, @dane_berggren, Twitter, archived from the original on 21 Jul 2024

alternative adjective nuts-to-butts

1. idiomaticnot comparableslangArranged in close formation, one behind the other; nose to tail.First known use 1990s

   They’d been led about the Court in a nuts-to-butts conga line, dancing for the amusement of His Royal Highness.

   1999, H. Jay Riker, chapter 14, in In Harm's Way, Avon Books, page 276

   3 more examples

   There was a Marine in front of Puller, then Puller, and myself. We were nuts-to-butts, so to speak, and that Marine tripped a booby trap.

   1994, George I. Ellis, “Petty Officer Third Class”, in Harry Spiller, editor, Scars of Vietnam: Personal Accounts by Veterans and Their Families, McFarland & Company, pages 93-94

   “All traffic all the time, every minute on the minute.” The radio waves trembled with Mother’s voice. “It’s nuts to butts on the Kennedy all the way into... wait a second... Accident Alert!”

   2004 June 29, Martin Mundt, The Crawling Abattoir, 3rd edition, Twilight Tales, page 103

   As you approach the door outside the funnel, you get nuts-to-butts and keep the muzzles of your weapons pointed up. You bring the weapon to bear as soon as you enter the room, careful not to sweep your buddy.

   2007, Luis Giampietri, Bill Salisbury, Lorena Ausejo, 41 Seconds to Freedom: An Insider's Account of the Lima Hostage Crisis, 1996-97, Ballantine Books, page 140

2. idiomaticnot comparableslangTightly crowded, packed.First known use 1990s

   The place was nuts-to-butts with state flunkies, troopers and K-9 cops.

   2001, P. J. Parrish, chapter 35, in Dead of Winter, Pinnacle Books, page 342

   5 more examples

   The Angels’ current facilities, Sliwa emphasized, are “ ‘sardinelike’ or, to use the street euphemism, ‘nuts to butts.’ Females who have visited felt uncomfortable.”

   1994 August 29, Sliwa, “Angels with Smelly Armpits”, in Monica Corcoran, New York, volume 27, number 34, page 28

   There are no chairs on the floor, and by show time, it was "nuts-to-butts" out there.

   2000 March 28, “Tour Diary #1: Asleep At The Wheel Hug The Road With Bob Dylan”, in MTV, archived from the original on 25 Apr 2024

   The night streets are nuts to butts with jarangs — the derogatory Thai term for white folk — strutting and gaping, hunting for beer and pussy, man’s most essential needs.

   2008, Mike Sager, “Thailand's Home for Wayward Bets” (chapter 8), in Wounded Warriors: Those for Whom the War Never Ends, w: Da Capo Press, page 169

   There was this "leaning bar" behind the seats at the main bar. It was nuts-to-butts in there. I had a "motorcycle" jacket on.

   2008 January 28, Morgan Buchanan, “Smacked a Harley rider in the face . . .”, in VTX OA, archived from the original on 25 Apr 2024

   The slow motion mosh pit resumed and bodies were crushed together like a man’s junk in 80s jeans. It was nuts to butts as we managed to squeeze the last person on, leaving no room to slide a credit card between us. There were armpits in the face and lumps and bumps pressed against lumps and bumps.

   2013 December 2, “The accidental pervert”, in Head in a Blender, archived from the original on 25 Apr 2024